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Just a word of caution to all out there that copies of the Wala (previously known as Aerobe) have surfaced (take a look below) and don't be mistaken or taken in by them. To be safe always buy from trusted and reputable retailers.

the blgospot website is part of the google world...i would imagine that they might have some sort interest in knowing that their site is being used to sell copies of the Wala....but i am also not certain of what sort of legal protection Flying Wings/Bell has on the Wala kites to start with....

You know as much as I hate copys, they have there place too....Much cheaper and that goes along way in many places. The thing is.....those people who now can afford A kite can now FLY, who would have never flown before because of the expense. Not matter what you fly, or where, or who you are, the "act of flying" is why we are all ......hooked on flying....

These Wala/Aerobie copies are retailing close to the price of an original, hence the rip-off. If they were going for just a couple of bucks buyers would then know they weren't getting the real thing or wouldn't be so miffed if they found out they were getting a copy or fake.

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"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return." Leonardo da Vinci

Cheap YES ---...Rip off no!!! Buying a cheap-o kite is as it is and all I can afford so there you go . But when someone builds a copy with the intent to fool someone into paying a bunch of cash thinking there getting a " Real " product. Well thats just as wrong as stealing in my opinion. Well it is stealing and should be viewed as such and delt with through the courts. Maybe it costs too much to take the guilty to court. Thats usually what happens. They just continue to get away with it.....Poor Old Tom

I think it's funny that their Rokkaku is named "Giant Windmill"! If you build a Rokkaku and you don't do a good job of making it symmetrical, it's easy to accidentally build a windmill!

I read a great story online somewhere (and couldn't find it last time I looked -- I thought it was at Gary Engvall's site) about a young guy who built a new Rok with take-apart horizontal spreaders, each with a ferrule joining the two spreaders, off-center. In order to make the kite "balanced", he'd put the top ferrule on the right-hand side of the kite and the bottom one on the left-hand side. When he showed it to the local "elder" kite guy, the guy puffed on his pipe a couple of times then said "What you've got here is a propeller!"

I remember this great story being told in memoriam of the guy with the pipe. Can anybody find it for me?

Edit: This time I found it! Not Gary, but Steve Ferrel, the smart oldster with the pipe was Mel Govig, and it's at http://www.kitebuilder.com/techsheets/rokkaku.htm . I hope this link doesn't offend or violate policy -- they are listing some sticks for sale at the top, though I've got it here for the great story.

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